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DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER
805 KIDDER BREESE SE -- WASHINGTON NAVY YARD
WASHINGTON DC 20374-5060

Online Library of Selected Images:
-- SHIPS of the GERMAN NAVY --

Scharnhorst (Battleship, 1939-1943) --
Actions & Activities


This page features all the views we have of the German battleship Scharnhorst's actions and activities.

For further pictorial coverage of Scharnhorst, see:

  • Scharnhorst (Battleship, 1939-1943).


    If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions."

    Click on the small photograph to prompt a larger view of the same image.

    Photo #: 306-NT-99098

    German Chancellor Adolf Hitler
    (left)

    On the christening platform, as the battleship Scharnhorst is launched at Wilhelmshaven, Germany, 3 October 1936.
    Among those also on the platform, just to the right of Hitler, are General Werner von Blomberg and Admiral Erich Raeder.

    Photograph from the New York Times Paris Bureau collection in the U.S. National Archives.

    Online Image: 61KB; 740 x 605 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 82407

    Norway Campaign, 1940


    German warships in a Norwegian port, probably Trondheim, in June 1940. Battleship Gneisenau is at left, with Scharnhorst in the left middle distance and heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper in right center.

    U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

    Online Image: 57KB; 740 x 400 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 83982

    Scharnhorst
    (German battleship, 1939-1943)

    View on board, looking forward, while the ship was at sea in 1940. Probably taken during the Norwegian campaign, in April or June 1940.
    Note air identification marking on her fore deck. The ship is cleared for action, with deck edge stanchions and lifelines taken down.

    U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

    Online Image: 115KB; 545 x 765 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 83981

    Norway Campaign, 1940


    German battleship Scharnhorst firing her forward 283mm guns, during the engagement with the British aircraft carrier Glorious and her escorts, 8 June 1940.
    Photographed from the battleship Gneisenau.

    U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

    Online Image: 79KB; 740 x 485 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 69744

    Operation "Cerberus", February 1942


    German heavy ships speeding through the English Channel, en route from Brest to Wilhelmshaven, 12 February 1942. Photographed from the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen. Next ship ahead is the battleship Gneisenau, with Scharnhorst in the distance.

    Copied from the report of officers of Prinz Eugen, with some identification by her Gunnery Officer, Paul S. Schmalenbach, 1970.

    U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

    Online Image: 76KB; 510 x 765 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 69748

    Operation "Cerberus", February 1942


    German battleships in the English Channel, en route from Brest to Wilhelmshaven, 12 February 1942. Photographed from the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen. The battleship Gneisenau is in the center, with Scharnhorst in the distance, to the left.

    Copied from the report of officers of Prinz Eugen, with some identification by her Gunnery Officer, Paul S. Schmalenbach, 1970.

    U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

    Online Image: 58KB; 740 x 415 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 69749

    Operation "Cerberus", February 1942


    German heavy ships steaming up the English Channel, en route from Brest to Wilhelmshaven, 12 February 1942. Photographed from the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, with the battleship Gneisenau next ahead and the Scharnhorst in the distance,.

    Copied from the report of officers of Prinz Eugen, with some identification by her Gunnery Officer, Paul S. Schmalenbach, 1970.

    U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

    Online Image: 44KB; 740 x 440 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 97505

    Kiel, Germany


    Aerial reconnaissance photograph, probably taken by the British Royal Air Force circa February-June 1942. The arrow in upper right center marks the position of the battleship Scharnhorst, which was then under repair at the Kiel navy yard for damage received during the February 1942 "Channel Dash".

    From contemporary files of the U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence.

    U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

    Online Image: 134KB; 740 x640 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 97506

    Kiel, Germany


    Aerial reconnaissance photograph, probably taken by the British Royal Air Force circa February-June 1942. The arrow in the lower center marks the position of the battleship Scharnhorst, which was then under repair at the Kiel navy yard for damage received during the February 1942 "Channel Dash".

    From contemporary files of the U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence.

    U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

    Online Image: 136KB; 740 x650 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 71392

    Scharnhorst
    (German Battleship, 1939-1943)

    In the Alta Fjord, Norway, circa March-December 1943.

    U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

    Online Image: 89KB; 740 x 555 pixels

     

    For further pictorial coverage of Scharnhorst, see:

  • Scharnhorst (Battleship, 1939-1943).


    If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions."


    Return to Naval Historical Center home page.

    Page made 14 March 2001